A Butterfly Orchid
by Shadow Tigress a.k.a Kit
Summary: One Shot. A mere flower can speak a thousand words...


Kit: Ok, I was just looking through flower meanings on the internet and thus this story was born! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the original Beyblade characters, just my own characters, so no stealing or suing!

Disclaimer for Dummies: I no own; you no sue!

* * *

Rayne sighed as she looked over document after document. These were the burdens of being the Princess of the Cattail Kingdom. As she was the only heir to the throne now that her older brother had taken it up, she had to get in the political habit. This was definitely something she wasn't happy about… 

"Lee, can't we go outside? It's so boring and stuffy in the palace. I feel as if I could die from boredom alone." She moaned pitifully at her advisor and best friend as he sat next to her, handing her a document every time she finished looking over and signing one, or looking over and vetoing one. (Which ever was appropriate for that document.)

Lee sighed as he looked at her. Sitting down, she was just a few inches taller than he was, but standing up, she was at least half a head smaller than he was. He tried his dead-level best to avoid the pouting look on her face. He always fell for that face, and that event had led to another, sometimes leading them into impending doom, and other times leading them into a lecture from her older brother, although he would smile at them when getting on to them. "Rayne, you know we can't," he muttered in return. "Besides, I don't want to get chewed out by Ray again…" and yet she still wouldn't give up. With a sigh, he gave in, "Alright, fine. We'll sneak out in a while. Just a few more documents, please?"

She grinned at him, "Of course, Lee-kun!" and she snatched up a few of the documents from his hand and set them in front of her, black cat ears flat against her skull as she concentrated on nothing else but reading them. Minutes later she signed the last one in a neat cursive script and set it on the pile with all the others.

Within a few minutes, both stealthy cat demons had managed to sneak from the palace and out into the woods behind it. This was near Fenix territory, so they'd have to be careful.

Rayne looked to her left, surprised to see her childhood best friend, and her current best friend's crush, Mariah standing just inside the entrance to the forest, her eyes closed as she appeared to be meditating. Rayne grinned, elbowing Lee lightly in the side, "Go talk to the lovely lady. She looks lonely…" she persuaded her friend with a grin. Lee cautiously walked over to her, Rayne trailing behind him.

When he finally got up the courage to talk to Mariah, it seemed that they had found common ground and were now having a rather friendly conversation. With a quiet grin, Rayne turned to leave, but was interrupted by Lee, "And where do you think you're going? Your brother would have my head if something happened to you."

Rayne turned and smiled at him, "It's alright, Lee. Have no worries about your head, I like it fine just where it is almost as much as you do. I think I am perfectly able to protect myself." She told him, and he couldn't very well protest with Mariah dragging him away, now could he? Thought not…

She smiled until they both disappeared into the darkness of the forest, then she turned and went on her own. Looking back to make sure no one from the palace had seen her, she took off to her left, straight into the restricted section. Why is it restricted, you ask? Simple, it was the part of the forest nearest the Fenix palace, and bore a path straight to the Fenix gardens, but she didn't care. She may have been a pampered princess, but she could take care of herself. She hadn't taken those katana lessons when she was younger for nothing, you know…

Coming to a clearing of a satisfying size, she stood in the middle, trying to decide what she would do with her time off. A small grin of triumph crossed her features as she placed her caramel-toned hand on the hilt of her sword, unsheathing it with little effort. She twisted it effortlessly in her hand, her eyes focused downward on the beautiful flowers of all sorts that dotted the ground below her. She'd always loved flowers, even when she was little. It was said that she was the first princess in the Cattail Kingdom ever to become an Herbalist, or a magic user that majors in plant magic. Thus, her sword had been specially made to suit her magic. The hilt was dark green in color, pictures of flowers carved into the hilt expertly and beautifully. The blade, on the other hand, was a light rose color, a pinkish-red that gleamed in the light.

She raised the blade parallel to her right cheek, smiling when the gleam on the blade caught in her eye. She closed her eyes to achieve ultimate concentration, breathing slowing slightly and her form relaxing. Ruby-amethyst eyes flashed as they opened and with this, the tantalizing but deadly 'dance' began…

oOoOoOo

A shadowed form darted amongst the trees, mighty wings flapping with great power, but also great reserve. Ruby-red feathers mixed with yellow and orange hues in the light and created a dazzling display of sun-like feathers. The form landed in a tree, hand resting against the rough bark of the trunk as he thought, wings folded against his back.

_That power and that scent…It can't be her; she wouldn't be stupid enough to invade our territory…?_

His crimson orbs closed, concentrating on the scent and the power signature not far ahead of him. It was definitely hers, that he was sure of, but what was she doing here? The little cat shouldn't be here, she had her duties just as he had his own back at his palace.

Powerful wings began to beat once again, taking him off the branch before he launched forward, his curiosity getting the better of him at the moment…

oOoOoOo

Within minutes he landed lightly on the branch of an ancient tree on the outskirts of the clearing. His orbs followed the graceful movements of the 'dancer' in front of him.

She turned and twisted almost fluidly, with a cat-like grace that came obviously from her heritage. The sword moved lightly in her grasp, slicing into the air around her and making very little noise. And then, just suddenly, she stopped. Her long black tail twitched behind her as she stood completely still, her ears twitching lightly too. He drew his own katana silently, holding it out in front of him as he neared the 'dancer' with silent steps, or rather silently beating wings.

"Well, hello Kai," her voice was soft, but it still held force and a firmness that couldn't be explained, and it made her presence more commanding than ever.

"Hn," he grunted in return, his eyes locked on to the katana that hung at her side motionlessly.

"Lee and I sneaked out of the palace tonight," she said quietly, turning to face him.

Kai looked at her, "Why?" he asked her, regarding her with a level stare.

She sent the stare right back at him without so much as a flinch, "Don't you ever get tired of sitting around and signing documents all day?" she asked him.

He tossed her question around in his head, thinking about it for a few minutes, "Hn."

She laughed lightly, "I figured you would say that. So what brings you out here in the dark of night?"

He smirked at her, "Don't you ever get tired of sitting around and signing documents all day?" he retorted quickly.

She laughed again, "That was expected." She paused as if thinking about something, "Would you mind joining me in a…little fighting match?" her katana flashed as she lifted it up in front of her.

He raised his katana from his side to place it in front of himself just as she did.

"I'll take that as a 'Yes'?" she asked before lunging at him, their katanas meeting with a clang of metal on metal. They both fought for dominance in the battle, neither gaining the upper hand nor loosing it either.

oOoOoOo

"What the -!"

A thorn less vine shot out of no where and wrapped itself around the Phoenix demon's left ankle, effectively catching him by surprise and pulling him off his feet. He landed on the ground with a heavy thump, katana bouncing out of his hand to land a few feet from him.

He looked up, his eyes meeting with jovial ruby-amethyst orbs, filled with mirth. She smiled down at him as he kicked his ankle out of the hold of the vine and cursed himself for his mistake. He looked up once more as he was met with her laughter, soft at first but growing gently in volume with each passing minute.

"What is so funny, little cat?" he grumbled.

"I thought Phoenixes never went easy on their opponents?"

A smirk found its way to the Phoenix demon's face, "Don't think it's that easy, little cat…"

Ruby-amethyst eyes widened as the vine was pulled forward, causing her to loose her balance and stumble forward. She brought her arms up to protect her face as a foot swept under her legs and she completely lost her balance. Her katana fell to the side as she quickly rolled onto her back, a weight falling to straddle her stomach and cold metal pressed slightly against her throat.

"You shouldn't have thought you'd won so easily, little cat."

Ruby-amethyst eyes darkened as she began to move her arm slowly out from under his grip, "Yes, I know, Kai…" then, her eyes widened as they settled upon the Phoenix demon above her. A grin tore over her face and she burst into what Kai would normally refer to as a 'giggle fit'.

Kai eyed her suspiciously, "What is so funny, little cat? You just lost and if I were really an enemy, your throat would surely be slit by now. Is this what you would do if an enemy were about to end your life?"

She managed to regain some of her composure, or at least enough to keep a somewhat straight face, "I noted that throughout this entire battle, both of us were distracted. We both had something on our minds." She explained.

He gave her a strange look, "And this has what relevance to us?" he asked.

She smirked at him, "Tell me, Phoenix Prince, what occupies your mind so much that you lose your guard in a fight?" she asked with amusement glinting in her eyes.

He returned a neutral look, "Tell me, Cattail Princess, what occupies your mind so much that you lose your guard in a fight?" he retaliated in an even tone.

She was silent, looking at him with shining almost violet-colored eyes, "I'll make you a deal, Phoenix Prince. I'll tell you what's on my mind if you tell me what is on yours."

He rolled off of her, standing on his own and dusting himself off, "I'll accept that deal, Cattail Princess. But only on one condition." He looked at her neutrally once more, waiting for her reaction. She staid silent, waiting for him to continue. "You must tell me what was on your mind first."

She too pushed herself off the ground after he rolled off of her, "Alright, I accept that condition…I-" she was cut off when they both heard Lee calling her name through the woods.

"Rayne, where are you? I hope you're not in this stretch of woods, this is forbidden. It's Fenix territory."

She smiled, "Interrupted, it seems. Perhaps someday I may get to tell you what's on my mind…That is, if you don't tell me first…" she picked up her sword from the ground and sheathed it in silence. Then, turned on her heel and left the clearing, leaving behind one very confused Phoenix demon…

oOoOoOo

Rayne grinned at Lee as she ran out of the woods, running right past him before he even realized she'd been there. And then he went chasing after her, complaining that once again, she'd dug a deep hole for them because she'd been in the forbidden area of the forest, but she didn't care.

Much to their surprise, when they got back, they didn't get a stern look from Ray, not even the least bit of a lecture. Just a nod towards Lee and a knowing look towards Rayne…What?

Her brother nodded to her desk, where there was a whole new stack of documents, all unsigned. But what caught her attention was the flower sitting atop the stack, with a tiny note attached to it.

Lee took one look at Ray and got the hint, following after the resident king to leave Rayne to herself for a while. She cautiously walked over to her desk, gingerly plucking the flower from the top of the stack…A Butterfly Orchid…? Then she smiled as she remembered the meaning of the Butterfly Orchid in the language of flowers, and her thoughts drifted back to the conversation she'd had in the forest with Kai. She'd never seen him as a flower person, but apparently there was a side to him she'd never experienced. Daintily holding the Butterfly Orchid in one hand, she untied the cord that held the note to the flower… and a grin spread across her face at the neat, fiery red script decrypted across the card…So he did know more about flowers than he let on…She lifted the Butterfly Orchid to her nose, letting the soft scent fill her senses…Sitting down in her seat, she set the flower off to the side with the note and proceeded to read the documents as she'd been doing earlier that same day.

Imprinted across the small card was a simple note in a fiery-colored ink that read: _You_ are _always_ on my mind.

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Kit: The meaning I found for the Butterfly Orchid was 'You are always on my mind' and thus this story came to be! I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to send a review my way! 


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